L-R: Pascale Kauffman, LUCA Board Vice-President; Sara Noel Costa de Araujo, delegated curator; Sam Tanson, Culture Minister; Françoise Bruck, LUCA President; Michèle Pranchère-Tomassini, Ambassador in Rome; Gian Angelo Belatti, Honorary Consul in Venice; Credit: MCULT

Friday 24 September 2021 marked the official inauguration of the Luxembourg Pavilion exhibition at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, Italy.

During the official vernissage, Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson, accompanied by the new Ambassador of Luxembourg in Rome, Michèle Pranchère-Tomassini, and several other guests from all over the world, visited the exhibition of the Luxembourg Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition.

Set up for the second time at the Sale d'Armi in the Arsenale, the Pavilion is hosting the exhibition entitled “Homes for Luxembourg” until 21 November 2021, designed by the delegated exhibition curator Sara Noel Costa de Araujo from Studio SNCDA. As in previous years, LUCA was tasked by the Ministry of Culture to act as the organiser of the Luxembourg pavilion.

Initially scheduled to open in May 2020 and postponed twice, the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, under the theme "How will we live together?”, is directed by the Lebanese architect Hashim Sarkis and organised by La Biennale di Venezia and its new president Roberto Cicutto.

Referring to the official title of this year’s Biennale, Luxembourg's contribution to the 17th International Architecture Exhibition comes with an exhibition that reflects on these dualities. The modular installation in the Sale d’Armi and several contributions to the architecture magazine Accattone explore ways of reversible living, offering a vision for a model of repurposing land as new urban commons, providing new forms of togetherness.

Since its muted opening on 22 May 2021, the Luxembourg Pavilion has welcomed nearly 30,000 visitors. In September, within the framework of a common weekend of vernissages, a new phase in the life of the Pavilion began. From October on, conferences and events related to the themes addressed in the "Homes for Luxembourg" exhibition will take place in order to shed new light on these topical issues.

A specific Emerging Talent Programme will follow these cultural events. Emerging curators, authors, mediators, scenographers, authors, bloggers and activists in the field of architecture will have the opportunity to explore the themes initiated by the exhibition "Homes for Luxembourg", get a first-hand overview of the current state of international discourse, gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities of contributing to the world’s most important architecture exhibition, enhance their professional abilities and establish important contacts and develop ideas for own projects.

Minister Sam Tanson congratulated the organisers for having succeeded, despite the challenges linked to the pandemic, in mounting an exhibition that is not only aesthetically successful, but also daring in its approach to the problem of affordable housing, by proposing modern and innovative solutions.

Further information is available at https://www.architecturebiennale.lu/.